Jerusalem – As the public and legal struggle to curb discrimination within haredi educational institutions continues, many still face difficulties in enrolling their children to desirable ultra-Orthodox schools, and some parents of Sephardic descent have resorted to changing their last names just to fit in.
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Haredi weekly “Mishpacha” (“Family”) reported in its most recent edition a growing trend of ultra-Orthodox families of eastern descent Hebraizing or “Ashkenizing” their surnames in order to increase their children’s chances of being accepted to Ashkenazi seminaries and yeshivas.
The clerks at the Interior Ministry’s population registry are already used to the practice: The family name Turjeman is changed to Truzman, Mussayev to Moskovitch, Shavo to Shavan, and so on.
“It’s no secret that Sephardic quotas in Ashkenazi educational institutions are limited,” said David Rot (pseudonym), formerly Shitreet. “Every Sephardic parent that registers their son to an educational institution is met with a stack of difficulties, unless they have a well known reputation or are well connected, or if they place a hefty donation on the table and the money makes up for the name.”
Yair Lev (pseudonym) who also changed his last name said, “I would rather not have taken this step, but in this world, everyone just looks at the outer wrapping of the name. If you don’t have to right name, things are harder for you.”
Both Rot and Lev said they had encountered much criticism from neighbors and members of their communities, with comments such as, “What’s so bad about being Moroccan?”, “The world isn’t stupid, who are you fooling? You were born Moroccan and you will stay that way,” but they said they had received some positive reinforcement as well.
Yoav Lalom, of the “Halacha Youth” organization for the struggle against discrimination in the haredi sector, told Ynet he is familiar with the phenomenon, saying, “It exists, but is not widespread.”
Lalom said he opposes the practice, which he calls “the easy solution”, adding that in many cases it ends up being counterproductive, as principals have been known to discover the truth about certain students’ origin during the school year and begun to pick on the “Ashkenized” children.
Headmasters of Ashkenazi institutions seem to regret the situation: “It is a shame that such prominent Sephardic families find themselves in this kind of situation,” an Ashkenazi rabbi from a well-known Jerusalem yeshiva told Ynet. “They are God-fearing Jews, even more so than us, and I guarantee that.”
His own institution, he stressed, does not discriminate: “For some Sephardic families changing the name will not do any good, since their mentality is completely different and unsuitable for our establishment.
“It has nothing to do with descent – past experience has proven that they just don’t assimilate well. It’s a shame to have everyone frustrated over it.
“We have in our school pupils with the most obvious Sephardic names. The only admission criterion is coming from a true God-fearing home,” he continued. “You can’t generalize the Sephardic community – some are adequate and some are not and it doesn’t matter whether they’ve changed their name. We have many Sephardic pupils on our honor roll. We love them.”
I hate to compare it to Nazism but that’s the closest I can think of. Educating our children that one type of person is better then another type of person, can only lead to disaster. These people are our educators?
And this “Rabbi” has no fear of saying such a stupid comment like “they can’t assimilate?” Who’s he fooling, G-d?
Can anybody explain me, how come the Sephardim don’t run their own school system and yeshiva’s, since they have different minhagim and learning level?
Why are we trying to mix two cultures together, we also run, litfishe, chassidishe, sephardishe, modern orthodox, Etc. yeshivas separately, but when a chasidish bochur wants to study in a litfsh yeshiva, we don’t discriminate…..
Amazing, how racist people can be in the name of religion. There is no excuse for this, and there never will be. American Jews have no clue how bad it is. The Israeli system is totally messed up, Avreichim can’t get their kids into Preschool! Where are our Gedolim when we need them?
” past experience has proven that they just don’t assimilate well”
Assimilate to what? Ashkenazi Culture? And if they don’t eat Gefilte fish and sing funny songs, that means they have no right to a Jewish education.?! What a senseless comment, by someone who is supposedly educating kids.
Oh buy, this sounds like a form of assimilation. As for me, I would have to ask the question as to why I would take my 2,500 year heritage and ancestry and throw it down the drain so that my kids can get into an “Ultra-Greasy” school. I’m happy being Sephardi and having a long and respectful chain to look back on. Slichot is not easy. But, would I give it up so that my kids can go to an Ashko School? “Fogetaboutit”
Where are all those “Kanoim” when you need them. Once they are protesting, let them protest for this Huge Chillul Hashem. This is much worse then an open parking lot on Shabbos. We are bringing up the next generation to hate other Jews. Imagine how bad it has to be for a family, that it would go out and change their legal name and all the paperwork that comes with it. God bless them for their courage, all so their kids can get a fair education.
I learned in an Israeli Yeshiva. The hate is there, there is no us edenying it. Let’s save the sinking ship before it is too late. We must STOP THE FUNDING to any YESHIVA that puts a cap on any students.
Why a white won’t marry a black has nothing to do with racism. The same white won’t marry another white, who doesn’t share the same culture & set of mannors & customs.
Not all people nor all nations were created the same.
People should try to get on as well as possible, but why force people into situations that are unbearable?
Imagine you grew up the first 10 years of your life, in Boston in an ultra religious but Modern Orthodox affiliated home. Would you at Bar Mitzvah be able to enroll in your clothing with your background & language to Kiryas Yoel Yeshiva? Would you even dream of it? Imagine they would accept you, how long would it last ? how depressed would you be?
In my opinion calling this racism & going to court about it is unfair, could these kids really succeed in such a different enviroment, can you force this integration? what happens when the kid missbehaves, because he feels he doesn’t belong?
What happens when he starts up with other kids for that very reason? & then when one mother after another sends a note asking her kid sit as far away from that kid or go to another parallel?
Is it fair to call it racism & fight it in this manner? is it fair to your own poor little kid?
Boruch Hashem the Sefardim have their own Talmud Torahs who cater to their needs, just like the so called Litaim [ Litvaks who just molded themselves that way over the last half century] & all types of Chasidim have their own.
Forcing this and calling it racism, really needs another fair look.
Not to say that when I was a kid & the kehilla was samll we wearn’t made up of all types in school, but it had it’s fair share of problems too.
Don’t different Ashkenaz Communities have different customs? Aren’t Polish & German Jews quite different? If we could live with that we can live with Sepharadim as well. We can teach Halacha in Schools for both Sephardim & Ashkenazim, no harm can come from it. And our children will learn that Ahavat Yisrael, means what it is, we love ALL jews regardless of their color or culture. So sad!!
These are the same “Rabbis” who will teach their bohrim about viohavta lareiha kamoha and cry about causes of Tisha Baav. What a disgrace.
not too long ago jews in the USA would change their names to WASP sounding names in order to be admitted to college or professional schools…
the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Thinking about this, not taking sephardim into Ashkenazi yeshivas in not such a big issue to me, how about “Ashkenazim” not being accepted into “Ashkenazi”- yeshivas and schools”, and this is happening all over, from Willy, Boro Park, Flatbush to Lakewood, now that’s the real chutzpah, first lets settle our own problems with “accepting our children into our yeshivas and schools”, and then will worry about the Sephardi community.
I am an Ashkenazy that goes to a Sefardi Yeshiva.
This phenomenon was discussed in the hakdamah to the new sefer Kol Brisk.
What is wrong with sefardic schools that makes parents so insistent upon sending their children to ashkenazi ones?
This is not a new phenomenon. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s zt”l grandfather changed his name to Kaplan from Carmona after arriving in America to more easily integrate into the Ashkenazi world.
So will the Sfardiy Mushiach have an Ashknazy name?
So will the Sfardiy Mushiach have an Ashknazy name?
I have learned that everyone is different. I had so many roommates in Yeshiva and Eretz Yisrael that were different, it didn’t matter what their background. Everyone becomes a nudnik as the zman goes on. Some of the frummest guys can become a changed person in their room. I am laughing as I remember. How these guys faired as they got married I will never know. That’s why Chazal state in Gemara Sota that making a zivug is harder than kriyas yam suf !!! Therefore, it doesn’t matter — ashkenaz or sephard, everyone is different. Middos tovos are the only thing that sets one apart from another. That is why middos are so important. That is why frei divorce rates are 50%.
I believe that the Kaplan name is Turkish for the animal – Panther. Is this correct. Therefore, Kaplans all originated in Spain then were exiles to Turkey and eventually went north to Europe. Is this correct?
In Mexico its the other way around. The Sefardim believe their way is the only way. The Ashkenazim are the minority.
Nice to see that the Rambam, Shulchan Aruch and 80% of the Rishonim wouldn’t be accepted. Perhaps Ashkenazim should have quotas on how many are allowed to learn ‘Sefardi Torah’
By the way ABRAHAM ABINU was a sefardich and he is the father of all us .
Imagine today if the Ramnbam lived in Bnei Brak. He wouldn’t get his children into any school.
While in yeshiva of Philadelphia in the 60s there were a few Sephardi boys. They were the nicest boys in the yeshiva.
On the flip side Ovadia Yosef’s children all learned in litveshe yeshivas even though he is the biggest Sephardi nationalist.
what about syrians accepting morrocans, first fix your own wagon.
rabbi bitton had to close the yeshive he opened for sefardim because no sefardi wanted their child to go there, I asked a few of them why and they ALL said because he’s morrocan. seems they hate each other more then any ashkenazi could.
Young children do not know the difference between black, tan, yellow, white, sephardi, ashkenazi, morrocan, syrian, etc. They also do not hate someone else bbecause their skin color is different or they are of a different national or ethnic background. It is adults who teach them to hate and fear differences. Students of all different backgrounds should be taught together. An important part of a child’s education is to learn to respect and get along with people who are different than they are. Learning about and respecting other cultures doesn’t have to mean giving up your own culture and traditions. The excuses being made for keeping people apart because of different minhagim are pathetic attempts to cover up what, at its core, is racism. It’s wrong and has no place in judaism.
Hey, didn’t Rav Ovadia Yosef just say the other day that when Moshiach comes he will institute sephardic minhagim for all yidden? I’ve got an idea! Since that’s the case (after all, Rav Ovadia can’t possibly be wrong, could he?) why don’t we just go ahead and make all yeshivas sephardi?? After all, all of us ashkenazim are just following the wrong minhagim anyway, right? So why not start and get a jump on things and start teaching all of us bigotted, prejudiced, ignorant ashkenazim the right way to do things immediately!!!
Prejudice between Jews is WRONG. It should be condemned. But it not just ashkenazim, it’s sephardim too and I am SICK of those that condemn the one while spewing the other.
The TRUTH is that those quotas exist NOT to keep sephardim OUT, but to ensure that sephardim are INCLUDED. The FACT is that these sephardim go to ashkenazi yeshivas because the sephardim don’t build enough of their own!!! Their OWN leadership has FAILED to meet the needs of their OWN community!!! The leadership of the ashkenazi community has, FOR YEARS, bent themselves over to ensure space in their yeshivas for sephardim to make up for this and what thanks do they get? They get called ignorant bigots! I say back: “Do something constructive! Build more sephardic yeshivas instead of blaming others (who have tried to help you) for your own failings and stop spreading sinas chinam!!!”
One must ask: Why are the Ashkenazi schools considered better? Do they get more funding? Are their graduates assured better jobs? If these are indeed the better schools, would they not want the best students, whether they are Sephardi or Ashkenazi? Why do the administrators automatically classify Ashkenazim as superior? There are good, honest people of all types.
any syrian who marries a morrocan is shunned by the community, I know this from personal experiance, I never heard of this rabbi bitons yeshiva but I can surely believe that’s why it closed. try suggesting a morrocan to a syrian for a shidduch date, its the biggest insult. the ashkenazim don’t want us because they learn from us to keep away
I know of a family that changed its surname name on advice of gedolim so that they could get acceptance by a Lakewood yeshiva ktana. The father is a very choshuv ger tzedek, living the charedi lifestyle. Apparently, there are only 612 mitzvos, onaas devarim doesn’t make the cut anymore.
Elie W, you really need to work on your hatred towards klal israel….what a boosha, that jews even have the nerve to justify this behavior, any head of any school, i dont care how big a rabbi, or learner he is, they are missing the main point of proper chinuch. They already failed by showing their true colors, and how much hatred there is between jews. Disgusting and I say this proudly, ANYONE who thinks they can justify why you cant accept someone to school simply because of their origin, will pay a steep price, when it truly counts! Vilda Chayas Behemas, self hating racists. shame on the ashkenazie community!
We dont have to look to the non Jews to find anti semitism…..it grows undeterred right within our own ‘mishpacha’. It is truly a disgrace.
My two boys attend a yeshiva and a camp that adheres to ashkenazi minhagim, e.g., nusach, selichos, etc.., which has all types of boys, Sephardim, Ashkenazim, Bucharians, Moroccans, chasidim. Their friends wear kippah sruga, leather, suade, velvet Sephardi caps. There are boys with long payos, no payos and some payos, hats, no hats – you get my point.
Ironic, but somehow, I don’t believe any of those bochurim would find any need or desire to make many of the comments posted here. To them, they’re all yidden. Of course, they do seem to distinguish each other; according to athletics!
Perhaps on their zechus we will merit th coming of moshiach tzidkeinu, bimheirah, v’yomeinu!!!